Method and apparatus for tracking and reporting food production information for food products

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments of the present disclosure include methods and apparatus for tracking and reporting food production information for food products. In an example embodiment, an apparatus comprises a hand-held device including a display and one or more input devices to sense product identification indicia associated with or affixed to a food product that is grown or raised in an agricultural operation. The hand-held device includes at least one processor to determine a machine-readable identification code from the product identification indicia; send the identification code to at least one remote server; receive, from the at least one remote server, information that is associated with the product, the information including agricultural product information that is associated with the production of the food product; and display at least some of the received agricultural product information on the display in human readable form.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 to Jeffrey W. Dlott et al., U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/705,373, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY TOCERTIFY AN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT,” filed on Nov. 2, 2000, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to information systems (IS) technology andinformation appliances for, inter alia, agricultural certificationcompliance, agricultural regulatory compliance, agricultural processmanagement, and agricultural product marketing. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to capturing and providing data aboutagricultural products, practices and conditions with high integrity andcredibility to consumers, regulatory agencies and certificationauthorities, agricultural process managers and agricultural productdevelopers, processors and handlers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Consumers and purchasers of food and other agricultural products arebecoming increasingly concerned about the exact natures of the foodsthat they are eating and the effect of agricultural practices on theenvironment. The public is directing the government to establish andenforce increasingly stringent regulations on the practices of farmers,ranchers, and food processors. Independent certification organizationswith progressive agendas for environmental stewardship are gainingsignificant momentum and influence in the marketplace. The predominanceof agriculture as the primary cause of surface water pollution in theUnited States is fueling the concerns of the voting public and consumersin general about the good environmental stewardship aspects andobligations of agricultural operations. The contribution of pollution torivers, lakes and estuaries by agricultural operations, via thegeneration and/or introduction into the environment of pesticides,nutrients, siltation, pathogens and organic enrichment, is becoming moreevident in the public and commercial discourse.

The work of M. Tetrault and D. Grandbois, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,885,461, issued 23 Mar. 1997, “Process and system for treatment of pigand swine manure for environmental enhancement”, is an example ofinventive efforts to reduce the environmental impact of agriculturaloperations. Tetrault and Grandbois developed a protocol to remove waterand sludge from animal waste of such a composition that the water andthe sludge may be safely returned to the external environment and thusreduce pollution of animal manure, both liquid and solid, as generatedby domestic animal farms. The efforts disclosed by Tetrault andGrandbois are biological and chemical in concept and in application anddo not employ the value of information technology to the challenges ofreducing pollution generation on farms.

R. Hargrove and C. Zind, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,619, issued Apr. 27,1999, “Farm management system”, present a technique of using aninteractive information technology to, quoting here from the Abstract,“acquire, portray, and process field related data to thereby set rateson a field by field basis, verify that each policy complies withcompany, state, and federal regulations, verify that the configurationof each field allows the field to be insurable, and provide a method tovalidate claims of crop damage caused by weather.”

Looking in developments outside the scope of agricultural practices,U.S. Pat. No. 5,999,909, issued 7 Dec. 1999, “Methods for establishingcertifiable informed consent for a procedure”, A. Rakshit and W. Judd,reports in the Abstract that, “a method for establishing certifiablepatient informed consent for a medical procedure, where, in oneembodiment, the patient interacts with a video training system untilmastery of all required information is successfully achieved. Trainingtechniques which permit elicitation of measurable behaviors from apatient as a guide to discerning the level of knowledge of the patientare utilized. Certification is only granted when the measurable behaviorapproximately coincide with the legal and medical standards forestablishing informed consent.” Rakshit and Judd thereby use aninformation technology system to correlate a statistical probability ofsubjective understanding of a respondent in a particular instant withthe behavior of this sole respondent and upon the bases of earliercomprehensive studies of the association of numerous respondents'behaviors with their contemporaneous levels of understanding.

Conventional approaches have attempted to thoughtfully empoweragricultural process managers with tools and techniques efficiently andeffectively to address the concerns of consumers, certifying bodies andgovernmental agencies. The existing suites of environmentalcertification standards (e.g., Federal and State organic food laws andnon-governmental eco-label certification programs) neither require norprescribe real-time certified monitoring of agricultural productionpractices. There presently exists a mismatch between the methods andtools of prior art data collection, as well as conventional automatedanalysis systems, and the informational needs and demands of theagricultural process manager, public and regulatory and certifyingagencies, agricultural product processing, transportation anddistribution agents, and consumers. In addition, there is a rapidlyincreasing concern on the part of the public and dedicated environmentalorganizations about the over use of pesticides and any resultingdegradation of the environment by agricultural operations.

Much of the raw data required by an agricultural manager to makecritical decisions is obtained in the field. In particular, agriculturalmanagers spend significant portions of their budgets on pesticideacquisition and application. Decisions made in pesticide use are largelybased upon field data describing pest population detection and counts,and this data is managed outside of any formal reporting and documentingstructure.

The external pressures upon agricultural managers to justify pesticideuse and to document the integrity of their pesticide decision-making israpidly growing. Most agricultural managers are as concerned about theenvironment as other citizens, and actively seek to improve the qualityof their decision-making and to demonstrate their sincerity to thepublic.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a method ofautomatically certifying an agricultural product. Agricultural productdata relating to an agricultural product is received at a managementinformation system. The agricultural product data is automaticallycompared against compliance requirements stored by the managementinformation system. A compliance result is automatically generated basedon the automatic comparison of the agricultural product data against thecompliance requirements.

Other features of the present invention will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary agriculturalsystem within which the present invention may be deployed.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of how seasonal production systemscan be managed as long-term production systems, and seasonal productionsystems may deliver seasonal production impacts and long-termproductions impacts.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart providing an overview of a method, according tothe present invention, of capturing, managing, processing and outputtingdata pertaining an agricultural product.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the capture of data atmultiple units that together constitute a chain of custody, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a data record, according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention, that may be generatedby a data capture device at each of the units of a chain of custody andthereafter communicated to the agricultural information system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a compliance and chain of custodysystem, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present, thatincludes a chain of custody constituted by a collection of custodians,each of which provides input to the agricultural management informationsystem.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation illustrating a plurality of datacapture devices, connected via a network to each other and to anagricultural management information system, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 8A-8D are diagrams illustrating details regarding the operation ofan exemplary hand-held device that includes a barcode reader.

FIG. 8E illustrates an exemplary chart on which may be printed acollection of barcodes, each of which represents product data that maybe ready by a barcode reader.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware components of ahand-held device, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating system components implemented,for example, in software within a hand-held device.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, of capturing data pertaining to anagricultural product.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary collection of datarecords that may be maintained within a database in an agriculturalmanagement information system.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating further architectural details ofan agricultural management information system, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a method, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, of automatically generating acompliance result based on the automated comparison of agriculturalproduct data against compliance requirements in the form ofcertification requirements.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a method, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, of communicating agriculturalproduct information to a user.

FIG. 16A illustrates the communication of a user interface by anagricultural management information system, via a network, to a computersystem for display.

FIG. 16B illustrates exemplary labels, each bearing a respectivebarcode, as applied to an assortment of agricultural products.

FIG. 17A illustrates exemplary seasonal reports and historic reports ofa number of leafhoppers identified within a particular trap bothseasonally and over a number of years, the reports being generated bythe agricultural management information system.

FIG. 17B illustrates an example of a weekly pest management monitoringreport, as generated by the agricultural management information system.

FIG. 17C illustrates an exemplary aggregate report that graphicallyillustrates water use efficiency per year measured in acre/feet for agroup of wine grape growers, the aggregate report being generated by theagricultural management information system.

FIG. 17D illustrates an exemplary pesticide use report, as generated bythe agricultural management information system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method and system automatically to certify an agricultural product aredescribed. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. It will be evident, however, toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details.

Agricultural System—Overview and Terminology

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary agricultural system 10 that includes anagricultural production system 15 and agricultural production outputs16. The production system 15 may in turn conceptually be viewed asincluding one or more components that contribute towards theagricultural production outputs 16. These components may includeproduction units 18, production practices 20, inputs 22, biologicalprocesses 24, and time 26. The outputs 16 may include agriculturalproducts 28 and impacts 30 on environmental, economic and socialsystems.

For the purposes of the present specification, agricultural systems 10shall be taken to include, but not be limited to, land-based (e.g.,cropland, grassland, pasture and range, forest land, plantations,hen-house, etc.), water-based (e.g., oceans, lakes, rivers, streams,ponds, tanks, etc.), fermentation (e.g., winemaking, brewing, baking,etc.), biochemical (e.g. extraction or biosynthesis of proteins,vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.), chemical (e.g., distilling,etc.) or other production processes and actions to prepare agriculturalproducts for ingestion or use by a human, animal, or plant.

Agricultural products 28 may be taken to include, but not be limited to,grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, meats, poultry, eggs, fish,seafood, herbs, beverages, wine, beer, distilled spirits, flowers,nursery plants, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals,nutraceuticals, nutritional supplements, medicines, plant and animalderived oils, cotton, fiber, paper, milk, cheese, breads, leather, andother processed products.

Units 18 may include, but not limited to, a specified unit of cropland(e.g., agricultural field), forest land (e.g., natural forest, managedforests, plantations, etc.), grassland pasture and range used by grazinganimals, animal rearing and processing facilities (e.g., feed-lot,slaughter-house, hen-house, etc.), a defined fresh or salt water areawhere fish, seafood and other plants and animals are captured orotherwise collected (e.g., specified length of ocean-front coast,lake-front coast, lake, river, stream, pond, bay, open-ocean, lake,aquaculture tank, etc.), processing facility (e.g., fermentation plant,dehydration plant, mixing plant, distillery, kitchen, bakery, bottlingplant, canning plant, etc.) or tank, barrel, vat, or other fermentation,biochemical, or chemical chambers. A unit may also be a biologicallymeaningful unit (e.g., an ecosystem, watershed, biological community,habitat, or species population range), a politically meaningful unit(e.g., a country, state, region, county, city, town, village or othervoting unit) or a geographically meaningful unit (e.g., a section,township, and range).

The terms agricultural product processing or food processing mean hereinany operation or action made to prepare an agricultural product 28 foringestion or use by a human, animal, or plant.

The terms farm, ranch, forest operation, fishing operation, andprocessing, facility include herein an agricultural production venture,enterprise, operation, location, site or other point of origin, whereinor whereby an agricultural, chemical or biochemical process issponsored, effected or managed and that produces an agricultural product28 that is meant to be, or is likely to occasionally be, used oringested by a human, animal, or plant or is meant to be combined withother materials in subsequent processes or mixtures, whereafter one ormore resultant products or derivative products of a subsequent process,are meant to be, or are likely to be occasionally be, used or ingestedby a human, animal, or plant. The meaning of the terms farm, ranch,forest operation, fishing operation, and processing facility furtherinclude an agricultural production venture, enterprise, operation,location, site or other point of origin, wherein or whereby anagricultural product 28 that is meant to be, or is likely tooccasionally be, used in a subsequent agricultural, industrial,chemical, biochemical or commercial process or manufacture, is generatedor sponsored. Examples of a farm, ranch, forest operation, fishingoperation, and processing facility include vineyards, wineries,orchards, vegetable gardens, vegetable farms, ranches, pig farms,chicken farms, meat packing plants, fish cannery, vegetable cannery,freezing facilities, drying facilities, bakery, extraction facilities,biosynthesis facilities, egg farms, fish hatcheries, aquaculturefacilities, tree and plant nurseries, forests, plantations, and freshwater and salt water fishing areas and locations.

The term lot is defined as two or more agricultural products 28 thatoriginate from the same unit of production 18. Further, agriculturalproducts 28 of a lot may be harvested or processed in substantially thesame way during substantially the same time period with substantiallythe same procedures and equipment. A unique alphanumeric identifier orother suitable designation known in the art is used to identify a lot.Examples of lots include, but are not limited to, two apples harvestedfrom the same tree on the same field on the same day or during anotherdesignated time period, a volume or an amount of grapes harvested from aparticular area of a specific vineyard during a certain time period,lettuce heads harvested from the same field during the same time period,a volume of wine, fermented in a single barrel or vat, a volume of winedivided and placed into a plurality of bottles, canned fruit,vegetables, or meat manufactured on the same day or during anotherdesignated time period on the same assembly line, frozen fruit,vegetables, or meat manufactured on the same day or during anotherdesignated time period on the same assembly line.

Production practices 20 are practices employed, for example, by farm,ranch; forest operation, fishing operation, and processing facilitymanagers to combine production units 18, inputs 22, biological processes24, and time 26 to produce the agricultural products 28. Examples ofproduction practices 20 may include, but are not limited to, cropresidue management, cropping management, pest management, nutrientmanagement, soil management, water management, human resourcemanagement, fermentation management, quality control management,biochemical process management, etc.

Inputs 22 may include but are not limited to production inputs (e.g.,nutrients, pesticides, seeds, seedlings, bacterial strains, yeaststrains, energy, machinery and other technologies, water, etc.),management inputs (e.g., farm managers, facility managers, boat or fleetmanagers, product line manager, quality control managers, pest managers,etc.), labor inputs (e.g., farm worker, ranch-hand, factory worker,production line worker, etc.), and capital inputs that are in any wayused in the production of agricultural products 28.

Biological processes 24 include, but are not limited to biologicallymeaningful physical, chemical, biochemical, individual organism,population, community, watershed, ecosystem, and biosphere processesthat influence in a positive or negative manner the production ofagricultural products 28 and impacts 30. The biosphere is the largestbiological unit and includes all parts of the earth where life exists.Several key nutrients and inorganic molecules essential for life cycleon a biosphere scale. Examples include the water cycle, nitrogen cycle,and carbon cycle. The term ecosystem refers to communities ofinteracting organisms and the physical environment in which they live.Example ecosystems include grassland, forest, freshwater, coastal, andagricultural. Ecosystem processes include such functions as air andwater purification, evaporation, precipitation, soil production, soilerosion, climate control, ecosystem-level nutrient cycling, and thecapture and flow of energy via food chains and food webs.

Ecosystems are composed of smaller biologically meaningful unitsincluding watersheds, communities, populations, and individualorganisms. A watershed is a geographically defined area where water fromstreams, neighborhoods, agricultural areas, and rivers carries sedimentsand dissolved materials to a common outlet such as a wetland, estuary,lake, pond, sea or ocean. Communities are the assemblages of speciespopulations that occur together in space and time. Species diversity,community biomass and productivity, succession, community-level nutrientcycling and energy flow, interspecific competition, decomposition,mutualism, predation, and parasitism are examples of communityproperties. Populations are composed of groups of actually orpotentially interbreeding individuals at a given locality. Examplepopulation processes include reproduction, gene flow, intraspecificcompetition, and dispersal. Individual organism processes includegrowth, fitness, reproduction, maintenance, and survival. Biochemicalprocesses include such examples as photosynthesis and metabolism.

Impacts 30 may include, but are not limited to, intended and unintendedalternations to biological, economic and social processes and systems asa result of agricultural production system 15. The term biologicalimpact is herein defined as an unintended or intended impact ofagricultural production system 15 on biological processes andconditions. The agricultural production system 15 can have impacts onair, water, and land from pollutants (e.g., sediment, dust and otherparticulate matter, nutrients, pesticides and their breakdown products,other organic and inorganic chemicals, salts, pathogens, etc.) and usepatterns (e.g., cultivation, deforestation, wetland drainage, burning,changes to water flows, etc.) that may alter physical, chemical,biochemical, individual organism, population, community, watershed,ecosystem, and biosphere processes. Example physical impacts includealternations to soil, water, or air temperatures, changes in lightintensity on land or water surfaces, water turbidity, etc. Examplechemical impacts include alternations to soil or water pH, percentdissolved oxygen in water, concentration of particulate matter in air,concentration of minerals (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorous, selenium, etc.)in soil or water, and contamination of soils or water by inorganic ororganic pollutants (e.g., pesticides, fertilizers, pesticide-breakdownproducts, etc.). Examples of impacts on individual organisms includealtered growth, fitness, reproduction, maintenance, and survival.

Examples of impacts on species populations include significant reductionin overall numbers (e.g., endangered or threatened species status),significant increases in overall numbers and range (e.g., invasivespecies), and alternation of population age, genetic structure anddiversity. Examples of community impacts include alterations of speciesdiversity and abundance (e.g., invasive species, loss of wild,populations, etc.), changes in the structure and functioning of foodchains and food webs, and changes in nutrient cycling and energy flows.Examples of ecosystem impacts include alternations in water quality,water quantity, water duration, and water seasonal timing, large-scalechanges in species diversity and abundance, decreases in total biomassand productivity, and alternations in nutrient cycling and energy flow.Examples of biosphere impacts include alternations to the carbon cycle(e.g., increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere), nitrogen cycle(e.g., increased nitrates in deep ground water) and global climatechange.

The term economic impact is herein defined as an unintended or intendedimpact of an agricultural production system 15 not accounted for in thetrade value or sale price of agricultural product 28. The term socialimpact is herein defined as an unintended or intended impact of anagricultural production system 15 on the health, safety, educational,and standard of living conditions and opportunities of individuals andcommunities and the treatment of animals. Example economic impactsresulting from agricultural production systems 15 include theindividual, community, and government cost of additional water treatmentto remove agricultural pollutes (e.g., sediments, nutrients, pesticides,pathogens, etc.), increased health care costs associated with pesticidepoisonings, increased taxes to pay for air quality and water qualityregulatory oversight and clean-up. Examples of social impacts that mayresult from agricultural production system 15 include poverty from lowpaying and season jobs, limited availability of affordable and safehousing, dangerous working conditions (e.g., exposure to pesticides),limited opportunities for education or training, decreased consumerconfidence in safe and affordable agricultural products 28, inhumanetreatment of animals, and increased regulatory oversight.

FIG. 2 illustrates how seasonal production systems 15 can be managed aslong-term production systems 17 and seasonal production systems 15deliver seasonal production impacts 30 and long-term production impacts31. Examples of long term production systems 17 include crop rotation,changes in cropping patterns, etc. Examples of long term productionimpacts 31 include accumulated environmental, economic and socialimpacts such as siltation of water courses, groundwater pollution,decreases in biodiversity, and decreases in quality of life forindividuals and communities.

Overview—Methodology

FIG. 3 is a flow chart providing an overview of an exemplary method 40of capturing, managing, processing and outputting data pertaining to anagricultural product. At a high level, the method 40 may conceptually beviewed as composing a data capture and chain of custody record creationcomponent 42, a certification/accreditation/compliance component 44 anda reporting component 46. Contributors, processors and users of the dataconcerning the agricultural product include custodians 48 of theagricultural product, an agricultural management information system 50,a regulatory/certification/accreditation authorities 52, consumers 54 ofthe agricultural product 28, and agricultural managers 56.

The method 40 commences at block 58 with the capture, by custodians 48of an agricultural product 28, of product data pertaining to theagricultural product, the product data reflecting a condition pertainingto the product at a custodial location. In one embodiment, as will bedescribed in further detail below, a series of custodians, eachcontrolling a custodial location along a chain of custody, perform datacapture operations to capture product data reflecting conditionspertaining to the product at each of the respective custodial locations.

At block 60, a data record is created by each custodian 48, the recordembodying the product data captured at block 58.

At block 62, the created data record is communicated from a respectivecustodian 48 to the agricultural management information system 50 that,at block 62, proceeds to store the received data record together with aninternal identifier 64.

At block 66, the agricultural management information system 50 performsa certification process to create and store a certification recordindicating that a particular agricultural product, for which data hasbeen received from one or more custodians 48, complies to one or morecertification or accreditation standards specified by one or morecertification or accreditation authorities. This certification recordmay, at block 68, be communicated to the relevant certification oraccreditation authority, that, at block 70, may optionally generate acertification or accreditation report.

At block 72, the agricultural management information system 50 mayoptionally perform a regulatory compliance process to create and store acompliance record. At block 74, this compliance record may optionally betransmitted to a regulatory compliance authority that then generates, atblock 76, a regulatory compliance report.

At block 78, a consumer 54 may generate a request for certaininformation regarding an agricultural product (e.g., whether the productcomplies with certain certification standards). As will be described infurther detail below, this request may be inputted into a networkcommunication device (e.g., a network-coupled personal computer) whichis then communicated to the agricultural management information system50.

At block 80, the agricultural management information system 50 retrievesdata pertaining to one or more agricultural products identified in theconsumer request and, at block 82, transmits the received data to theconsumer 54 as a response to the initial request. At block 84, theconsumer 54 may then view the product data including, for example,certification/accreditation/compliance information as well as custodialhistory information as derived from the data originally captured by thecustodians 48 at block 58.

In a similar manner, at block 86, an agricultural manager 56 maygenerate a report request for a report pertaining to one or moreagricultural products, this request being transmitted to theagricultural management information system 50 at block 88. At block 90,the agricultural management information system 50 retrieves one or morereports and other pertinent data and, at block 92, transmits theretrieved report data to the agricultural manager 56. At block 94, theagricultural manager 56 is then able to view one or more managementreports derived from the management data.

FIG. 3 provides a high-level overview of the method 40. Further detailsregarding each of the operations, as well as the systems underlying suchoperations, will now be discussed.

Data Capture and Chain of Custody

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the exemplary capture of dataat multiple units 100 that together constitute a chain of custody. Thesubmission, by each of such units 100, to the agricultural managementinformation system 50 for storage within a database 103, of records 102that embody the captured data pertaining to the agricultural product.The units 100 may conceptually be viewed as comprising units ofproduction 104, and units of processing, storage and distribution 106.Within the context of each unit, data may be captured regarding each ofa number of operations to generate individual data records of productdata reflecting conditions pertaining to a relevant agricultural productat a respective unit. For example, a unit of production 104, as definedabove with reference to FIG. 1, may include pre-production operations108, production operations 110 and processing operations 112. Accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, data pertaining toagricultural products at the relevant unit of production 104 may begathered as part of the operations 108-112 to compose the data records102. The exemplary records 102 are shown to include location data toindicate the location of the relevant unit of production, measured datareflecting a measured or otherwise ascertained metric, time and dateinformation, and authentication information.

Similarly, each of a number of units of processing, storage anddistribution 106 may include combinations and permutations of processingoperations 112, storage operations 114 and transport operations 116,agricultural product data being captured as part of such operations.

While the described operations are illustrated, in FIG. 4 as beingperformed at various units, it will be appreciated that any permutation,variation or combination of the described operations may occur at any ofthe described units, and that the data capture need not necessarily beperformed as part of the described operations.

By implementing the capture of product data at each of a chain of unitsthat constitute a chain of custody of an agricultural product and thesubmission of such product data to the agricultural managementinformation system 50, for example in the form of the records 102, itwill be appreciated that the agricultural management information system50 is able to provide a global view of a chain of custody and conditionspertaining to the agricultural product at each custodial locationconstituting the chain of custody.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic representation of a data record 102, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, that may begenerated by a data capture device at each of the units 100 of a chainof custody and communicated to the agricultural management informationsystem 50. In one embodiment, the record 102 may be constructed by thedata capture device at the custodial location, and communicated to theagricultural management information system 50 as a record. In analternative embodiment, the agricultural product data, as captured bythe data capture device, may simply be communicated to the agriculturalmanagement information system 50, which then formats the received dataas the record 102.

A unique identification field 120 stores, for each record, a uniqueidentifier for the particular record that also serves to identify therelevant agricultural product for which the record 120 pertains. In oneexemplary embodiment, a unique identifier for a record stored in a field120 may comprise a Universal Product Code (UPC), or a derivativethereof.

A time field 122, for each record 102, stores a time at which theagricultural product data included within the record 102 was captured. Adate field 124 similarly stores a date on which the relevant data wascaptured. A place field 126 stores location data indicating a location(e.g., any one of the units 100 discussed above with reference to FIG.4) at which the agricultural product data was captured. In oneembodiment, the data in the place field 126 indicates one of multiplecustodial locations for a particular agricultural product.

A person field 128 stores an identifier for a person, or operator, at acustodial location who was responsible for the capture of theagricultural product data. An activity field 130 may store informationidentifying an activity (e.g., any one of the operations 108-116described above with reference to FIG. 4) pertaining to the agriculturalproduct and to which the captured data pertains. For example, anactivity indicated in the activity field 130 may be the application of afertilizer to a unit of production, the applying of the pesticide at aunit of production, the harvesting of an agricultural product, thepackaging of an agricultural product, etc.

An equipment serial number field 132 stores an identifier for datacapture equipment utilized in the capture of the data embodied withinthe record 102. For example, the equipment may comprise a hand-helddevice, examples of which are provided below. A custodian field 134stores an identifier of a custodian 48 that operates or manages aparticular custodial location in a chain of custody (e.g., a unit 100).

The record 102 may also include a number of optional verificationidentifiers. More specifically, a digital signature field 136 may storea digital signature utilized to encrypt the record 102 for secure andconfidential transmission. A witness field 138 may include a digitalwitness identifier that provides a further level of authentication forthe digital signature 138. A Global Positioning System (GPS) field 140may include longitudinal and latitudinal location information, in oneembodiment, to be utilized to authenticate place information storedwithin the place field 126. The contents of the GPS field 140 may alsobe utilized to enhance reports generated by the agricultural managementinformation system 50, by providing a further level of detail regardinglocation of a custodial location.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a compliance and chain of custodysystem 150 that includes a chain of custody constituted by a collectionof custodians 48, each of which provides input, for example in the formof a record 102, to the agricultural management information system 50.The system 150 is also shown to include a collection ofregulatory/certification/accreditation authorities 52 that interact withthe agricultural management information system 50 to at least'partiallyautomate regulatory compliance, certification or an accreditationprocesses. The exemplary custodians 48 include an agriculturalproduction system 15, a packaging custodian 152, a transportationcustodian 154, a processor custodian 156, a wholesale custodian 158 anda retail custodian 160. Outside the chain of custody, a consumer 54 isalso shown to interact with the agricultural management informationsystem 50.

Each of the custodians 48 is further shown to access one or more datacapture devices 170 that are utilized to capture product data at therespective custodial locations 48. Each data capture device 170 isfurthermore shown to be in communication with the agriculturalmanagement information system 50, so as to facilitate the communicationof the captured product data from the data capture device 170 to theagricultural management information system 50.

A data capture device 170 utilized by a custodian 48 may be a hand-helddevice (e.g., a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, orany other known hand-held device), or a fully-functional computer system(e.g., a desktop Personal Computer (PC) or a notebook computer system).Further, as described in further detail below, the data capture device170, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, maybe equipped to perform read and/or write operations of an externalinformation source. In one embodiment, the data capture device 170 maybe connectable to an external data source associated with a particularcustodial location. In alternative embodiments, the data capture device170 may be constructed to perform a wireless read of informationassociated with a custodial location utilizing any electromagneticfrequency communications (e.g., optical, infrared (IR) or radiofrequency (RF) communications).

The agricultural management information system 50, as will be describedin further detail below, comprises one or more applications executing onone or more computer systems, as well as one or more databasesmaintained on one or more data storage systems.

The data capture devices 170 communicate with the agriculturalmanagement information system 50 utilizing a communications network,such as the Internet, the Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), cellulartelephone networks, a Wide Area Network (WAN) or a Local Area Network(LAN).

A collection of authorities 52 are also shown to interact with theagricultural management information system 50. Such authorities 52include, merely for example, a certification authority 162 (e.g., TheFood Alliance, California Certified Organic Farmers, etc.), anaccreditation authority 164 (Marine Stewardship Council, ForestStewardship Council, etc.), a non-profit organization 166 (e.g., anenvironmental watchdog, social, economic organization, or universities),and federal, state, and local public agencies 168 (e.g., The USEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Food And Drug Agency (FDA),The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Department ofPesticide Regulation (DPR), etc.). The interaction of the authorities 52with the agricultural management information system 50 will also bedescribed in further detail below.

Data Capture

Further details regarding exemplary embodiments of the capture 42 ofdata concerning an agricultural product will now be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic representation illustrating a plurality of datacapture devices 170, connected via a network 180 (e.g., the Internet) toeach other and to the agricultural management information system 50.Each of the data capture devices 170 is located at a respectivecustodial location 48 within a chain of custody to capture pertinentdata. The data capture devices 170 also include a stand-alone computersystem 184 that communicates agricultural product information on a datastorage media 186 (e.g., a CD ROM or any other optical, magnetic oropto-magnetic storage medium) that is provided to the agriculturalmanagement information system 50. Accordingly, the computer system 184is not required to be coupled to the network 180.

One of the data capture devices 170 is shown to comprise a hand-helddevice 182 that communicates' utilizing radio-frequency communications190 with a base computer system 192. The hand-held device 182 is alsoshown to communicate directly with the network 180 via radio-frequencycommunications 190. The hand-held device 182 is utilized by an operatorconveniently to record data concerning an agricultural product atvarious locations within a chain of custody and production cycle throughwhich the agricultural product proceeds. The hand-held device 182 may beutilized by any of the custodians 48, described above with reference toFIG. 6, at any one of the custodial locations 48. For example, farmers,transporters (e.g., truckers and railroad freight handlers) processors,distributors, retailers, insurers, marketers, resellers, regulatoryagents, inspectors, environmentalists and any third party may utilize ahand-held device 182 to capture appropriate data.

The hand-held device 182, and also the computer systems 181, includes adata reader in the exemplary form of a barcode reader 194. Analternative embodiment of the present invention, the data reader mayinclude any optical, infrared, radio frequency, magnetic oropto-magnetic reader or a network device-before receiving communicationsor information via a network.

FIGS. 8A-8D are diagrams illustrating further details regarding theoperation of an exemplary hand-held device 182, that receives input froma barcode reader 194. Data capture at an exemplary custodial location inthe form of a production unit will now be described with reference toFIGS. 7 and 8A-8D.

Turning firstly to FIG. 7, the present invention proposes a method bywhich product data, reflecting a condition pertaining to an agriculturalproduct, be associated with location data identifying a location withinthe chain of custody. Further, the present invention proposes that aproduct identifier may also be associated with the captured location andproduct data. Referring specifically to FIG. 7, at a specific custodiallocation 201, location data in the form of location code 202, encoded asa barcode, is shown to be physically associated with the custodiallocation 201. For example, as shown in more detail in FIG. 8B, thelocation code 202 may be printed on a weather-resistant tag 210 that isfixed to a physical structure in the exemplary form of a post 212located at the custodial location 201. Accordingly, the post 212 may bepositioned at a specific location at a custodial location 201 to providea reference location for the capture of product data.

FIG. 8C illustrates an exemplary situation in which a tag 210, on whichthe location code 202 is again represented in the form of a barcode, isattached to an insect trap 214.

It will be appreciated that, utilizing the barcode reader 194, thehand-held device 182 may be utilized conveniently and reliably tocapture a location code 202 from a location identifier (e.g., the tag210) that is physically associated with a custodial location 201 bybeing attached to a post or trap, or being otherwise secured at thecustodial location 201.

Having captured location data utilizing the hand-held device 182, thepresent invention proposes allowing a custodian 48 to capture productdata, reflecting a condition pertaining to an agricultural product, atthe relevant custodial location 201. To this end, FIG. 8A shows thehand-held device 182 to include a keypad 216 via which a custodian 48may enter product data reflecting a condition pertaining to the productat the first location identified by the relevant location code 202. Forexample, with reference to FIG. 8C, a display screen 218 of thehand-held device 182 may present a user interface via which, utilizingthe keypad 216, or touch-sensitive functionality provided by the screen218 itself, the custodian 48 may enter an indication of the number ofbugs 220 captured in the trap 214 at a particular time. It will beappreciated that, within different environments and at differentcustodial locations 201, a wide variety of agricultural product data maybe captured. Accordingly, a wide variety of data capture applicationsmay be executed by the data capture device (e.g., the hand-held device182) to prompt a custodian 48 for appropriate data in a convenient andreliable manner. Such prompting may occur via a user interface presentedon the display screen 218. The data input may be via the keypad 216, orvia a touch screen functionality.

In a further alternative embodiment, referring to FIG. 8D, a particularcustodian 48 may be provided with a chart 222, or handbook, of barcodes,each barcode embodying a product data code 204 that is associated with aparticular chart 222. For example, each product data code 204 containedwithin a particular chart 222 may reflect a unique condition that isobservable or determinable by a custodian 48. For example, a productdata code 204 may reflect an observed condition pertaining to anagricultural product at a custodial location identified by the locationcode 202. It will be appreciated that a wide variety of conditions maybe of interest from an agricultural management perspective, and any oneof these conditions may be associated with a particular product datacode 204. FIG. 8E illustrates an exemplary chart 222 on which areprinted a collection of barcodes. The collection of barcodes includesproduct data codes 204 that in the illustrated embodiment provideproduct data in the form of a numeric count of pests that may beobserved within a trap 214, such as that illustrated in FIG. 8C.Utilizing a barcode reader 194, such as that illustrated in FIG. 8A, acustodian 48 may conveniently input a numeric value to a hand-helddevice 182. It will readily be appreciated that by selecting a sequenceof the product data codes 204, any numeric value may conveniently beentered into a hand-held device 182.

In addition to the product data codes 204, the chart 222 includesexamples of location/data type codes 205, each of which indicates both adata type (e.g., leafhopper count, mite count, thrips count, mildewlevels) and a particular location at which the relevant data type wascaptured (e.g., the northwest, northeast, southwest or southeast regionof a unit or production). Utilizing the location/data type codes 205, acustodian 48 is conveniently able, by performing a single read of a code205, to input both location and data type information to a hand-helddevice 182, whereafter a count, that comprises the indicated data type,may be entered utilizing the product data codes 204.

It will of course be appreciated that, in alternative embodiments, thelocation and data type codes may be distinct. For example, the chart 222may contain a first set of data type codes (e.g., leafhopper, mite,thrips, mildew), a second set of location codes (e.g., northwest,northeast, southwest and southeast) and a third set of product datacodes 204. In this embodiment, it will be appreciated, the number ofbarcodes printed on a chart 222 may be advantageously reduced. However,it will be appreciated that data input would, utilizing this embodiment,require the input of three codes, as opposed to the two codes that areadvantageously required for a complete input utilizing the chart 222illustrated in FIG. 8E.

The chart 222 is also shown to include a collection of command codes 207utilizing which a custodian 48 may conveniently input commands (e.g.,“done with vineyard”) into a hand-held device 182. It will beappreciated that any number of commands, applicable to a particularapplication or environment, may appear on a chart 222.

Having captured the location data (e.g., the location code 202) and theproduct data (e.g., the product data code 204), a custodian 48 may whereappropriate and possible capture product identification data as embodiedwithin a product identification code 206 (e.g., a Universal Product Code(UPC)) embodied within a barcode associated with a particularagricultural product as illustrated in FIG. 7. It will be appreciatedthat a product identification code 206 may not be associated with anindividual product at all locations along a chain of custody, and mayonly become associated with an individual product and during a packagingstage. For example, at a unit of production 18 (e.g., a farm unitproducing thousands of lettuce heads), a product identification code 206is not associated with each individual agricultural product. However, ata downstream packaging custodian 152, such product identification codes206 may be associated with each individual agricultural product.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the record 102 describedabove with reference to FIG. 5 is composed by the hand-held device 182.In an alternative embodiment, the information to compose the record 102is communicated from the hand-held device 182 to a computer system 181,that composes the record 102. In a further embodiment, the informationcaptured by the hand-held device 182 is simply relayed via the computersystem 181 to the agricultural management information system 50 thatthen composes the record 102. In a further embodiment, the informationcaptured by the hand-held device 182 is communicated via wirelesstransmission directly to the agricultural management information system50 that then composes the record 102. In any event, it will beappreciated that, to compose the record 102, information types topopulate the various fields, should be captured. Accordingly, thehand-held device 182 is required to capture information to populate thefields of the record 102, either automatically or by prompting input ofthe appropriate data. While the capture of the data for the record 102is described as being performed by the hand-held device 182 above andbelow, it will be appreciated that the information could similarly becaptured by any of the computer systems 181 illustrated in FIG. 7 towhich a reader (e.g., a barcode reader 194), may be attached, and intowhich information may be inputted via a keyboard or a cursor controldevice, responsive to prompting presented on a display screen of thecomputer screen 181. However, for the purposes of illustration, thedescription herein shall be limited to data captured via the hand-helddevice 182.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the hardware components of thehand-held device 182, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention. A processor 230 is coupled via buses to a RandomAccess Memory (RAM) 232, a static memory 234 and a storage device 236(e.g., a disk drive or flash memory device). The display screen 218 alsoreceives signals from the processor to generate a display (e.g., a userinterface to receive agricultural product data).

The hand-held device 182 is powered by an internal power source 238(e.g., batteries), and also has a digital signature module 240 to storea digital signature that uniquely identifies the hand-held device 182. Anetwork modem or port 242 (e.g., a USB or FireWire port) allows thehand-held device 182 to be coupled to a network. A receive/transmitmodule 244 enables the hand-held device to transmit and receive optical(e.g., infrared), radio frequency or any other electromagnetic frequencysignals.

The hand-held device 182 is also shown to include at least one inputmodule 246 via which a custodian may input data into the hand-helddevice 182. The input module may comprise the keypad 216, a touch-screencapability associated with the display 218, a voice recorder, a videorecorder, an optical code recognition (OCR) module or radio frequencymodule associated with the receive/transmit module 244, the barcodereader 194 or any other hardware module that facilitates the input ofdata into the hand-held device 182.

An external power source 248 may also be utilized to provide power tothe hand-held device 182. An optional GPS module 250 may providelongitudinal and latitudinal position information to the hand-helddevice 182. In an alternative embodiment, the hand-held device 182 mayinclude a relative position system (e.g., a three-point transponder)that detects the location of the hand-held device 182 relative to a baseunit (e.g., associated with the computer system 192), the base computersystem 192 including a GPS module. By combining the relative positioninginformation received from the hand-held device 182 with the locationinformation derived by a GPS module of the base computer system 192,position information for the hand-held device 182 may be derived.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating system components implemented,for example, in software within the hand-held device 182. The hand-helddevice 182 is shown to include a number of subsystems, including anoperating system 260, a storage system 262 that controls the RAM 232,the static memory 234 and the storage device 236, and a verificationsystem 264 that verifies data inputted into the hand-held device 182 viathe input modules 246. Specifically, the verification system 264 mayverify location data, as represented by a location code 202, inputtedvia the barcode reader 194. To this end, the verification system 264 mayreceive input from the GPS module 250 or location transponder 252.Further, the verification system 264 may operate to verify theauthenticity and trustworthiness of the inputted data by receiving awitness confirmation 266 of the inputted data. In this embodiment, awitness with a unique identifier 138 confirms some or all data capturedby the operator of the hand-held device 182 and adds a unique witnessidentifier 138 to the captured data or data report 102 prior totransmission to the agricultural management information system 50. Suchwitnesses may include a second custodian, certification agent,accreditation agent, third-party representative, or government agent. Adata capture system 268 controls the one or more input modules 246, andmay interface with a number of specific subsystems, namely a voicerecognition system 270, a handwriting recognition system 272, an OCRsystem 274 and a IR or RF system 276. Any one of the systems 270-276 maybe dedicated at the controlling of a specific input module 246. Aprocessor and memory system 278 operates to control the processor 230and the memory 234.

A report generation system 280, in one embodiment, operates to generatea report or record from the data received from the data capture system268, as well as data retrieved internally from other systems andsubsystems of the hand-held device 182. To this end, a date and timesystem 282 provides date and time information to the report generationsystem 280. Further, the storage device 236, in one embodiment, storesidentification information identifying a person (or process) that isresponsible for the input of the data via the one or more input modules246 and also that stores an equipment serial number associated with thehand-held device.

A transmission system 284 is responsible for operating the networkmodem/port 242 and the receive/transmit module 244 to facilitate theoutput of information from the hand-held device 182. In one embodiment,the transmission system 284 may transmit captured data utilizing RFcommunications to a base computer system 192 that then, via theInternet, communicates this data to the agricultural managementinformation system 50. In an alternative embodiment, the hand-helddevice 182 may be physically coupled to the base computer system 192 inorder to transfer information to the base computer system 192 forpropagation to the agricultural management information system 50. In yeta further embodiment, the hand-held device 182 may be coupled directlyto the Internet, and may itself communicate the captured data to theagricultural management information system 50.

Data Capture—Methodology

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, of capturing datapertaining to an agricultural product. The method 300 commences atdecision block 302, with the determination as to whether a record orreport generated by the report/record generation system 280, andcomposed of the previously captured data pertaining to an agricultureproduct, is to be stored. If so, at block 304, the report, or record, isstored. Following a negative determination at decision block 302, atdecision block 306, a determination is made as to whether input data hasbeen received via one of the input modules 246 of the hand-held device.If not, a wait state is entered at block 308.

On the other hand, if input data is detected at decision block 306, atblock 310 the hand-held device accepts location data in the form, forexample, of a location code captured from a location identifier (e.g., atag 210 or a chart 222 having a printed barcode thereon). Alternatively,the location data may be automatically determined utilizing OCRtechnology, with a location code composing a numeric sequence read froma location identifier

In yet another alternative embodiment, a location code may be embeddedin a transponder that is activated by the hand-held device 182, so thelocation code is communicated as a radio frequency communication fromthe transponder to an appropriate receiver embedded within the hand-helddevice 182.

It will of course be appreciated that the location data can becommunicated to the hand-held device 182 in any one of a number of waysfrom media on which the location data is stored in such a way as to bephysically associated with a location identified by the location data.By obtaining the location data from media that is physically associatedwith the relevant location, the integrity of this information and thereliability of the capture operation, may be increased. Furthermore, theconvenience to a custodian 48 performing the location data capture isincreased. By having the location data appear, or be stored, on a mediaat the relevant custodial location, a relatively low-tech and costeffective system for capturing the location data is provided.

At block 312, the hand-held device 182 accepts agricultural productdata, for example in the form of a product data code 204 as describewith reference to FIGS. 8D and 8E. Alternatively, the product data maybe inputted into the hand-held device via the keypad 216 or a touch- (orpressure) sensitive display 218. At block 312, product identificationdata 206, as described above with reference to FIG. 7, may alsooptionally be inputted if such information is available.

At decision block 314, a determination is made as to whether furtherexternal data input is required in order to complete a report or recordto which the hand-held device 182 contributes. If so, the method 300loops back to block 312 to receive further data. If not, at decisionblock 316, the method 300 again loops back to block 312. Alternatively,if the collection of information by the device 182 is deemed to befinished at decision block 316, at block 318 the device 182 may append adigital signature to the data, at block 320 append time and dateinformation to the captured data, at block 322 include a geographicposition reference, such as a GPS value or other suitable geographicpositioning identifier, to the data, and at block 324 append witnessinformation to the data. It should be noted that the addition to thedata of the digital signature, time and date stamp, geographic positionreference and witness verification may optionally be performed, andserves to enhance the perceived credibility of the information asentered a custodian. Further, this optional data may serve to address orsatisfy a certain regulatory, accreditation, or certificationrequirements.

At decision block 327, a determination is made as to whether thereport/record is to be transmitted. If so, a transmission occurs atblock 328.

At decision block 330, a determination is made as to whether therecord/report is to be stored. If so, a storage operation occurs atblock 332.

The acceptance of the location and product data at blocks 310 and 312,as previously noted, may be through an optical, radio frequency,infrared, video, or audio signal read operation of an appropriate code.For example, a product or data code may be stored in a one, two ormulti-dimensional barcode. Alternatively, a product or data code may bestored within a transponder, or by a radio frequency transmitter thatcommunicates utilizing, for example, the BlueTooth protocol. In yet afurther exemplary embodiment, a location or data code may be encoded asan audio signal.

The product data captured at block 312 may comprise any data pertainingto an agricultural product. For example, the product data may beenvironmental data, indicating environmental conditions associated withan agricultural product. Such environmental data may, for example,reflect growing environment and conditions (e.g., soil nutrient levels,atmospheric conditions, pesticide application, etc.). Environmental datamay also include conditions such as water, air and land quality adjacentto the unit of production 18. Environmental data may further comprisethe health and status of species populations, a community, watershed,and ecosystem associated with the unit of production 18. The productdata may also include characteristic data indicating a specificcharacteristic of an agricultural product. For example, suchcharacteristic data may indicate the size, weight, calorie, color, brix,or other observable or measurable characteristic of an agriculturalproduct. The product data may also comprise activity data recordingdetails of an activity performed with respect to an agriculturalproduct. For example, the activity data may reflect the timing andvolume of pesticides applied at a particular unit of production 18. Theactivity data could also reflect data concerning any processing,distributing, packing, treating or handling of the agriculture productat any one of the custodial locations discussed above.

The product data may furthermore include economic data indicating costsof production associated with an agricultural product (e.g., material,water, energy, equipment, management, land, capital, and labor costs).Further, labor (or personnel) data may be captured at block 312 toidentify personnel that contributed toward the production or processingof the agricultural product. Such personnel or data may includepersonnel identification, labor location and labor time, merely forexample.

It should also be noted that the product data captured at block 312 maycomprise audio or video data that is captured into a portable datacapture device (e.g., an audio cassette recorder or a video recorder).Such captured audio or video may be digitized, and stored by theagricultural management information system 50 as part of the record 102.

Chain of Custody—Database

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary collection 400 ofdata records 102 that may be maintained within the database 103 of theagricultural management information system 50. FIG. 12 also illustratesthat the collection 400 of records 102 may be indexed by a commonproduct code (e.g., a Universal Product Code (UPC) 402 or a lot code404). Specifically, the UPC 402 or the lot code 404 may comprise theunique identifier 120 of an agricultural product data record 102, asillustrated in FIG. 5. Each of the records 102 may be linked to furtherrecords and reports pertaining to a specific agricultural product, oragricultural product lot, so that a hierarchical data structure ofrecords and reports that comprises the collection 400 is defined. Anexemplary chain of custody 406 for an agricultural product is alsoillustrated in FIG. 12.

In addition to records 102 that are generated at various custodiallocations along the chain of custody 406, the collection 400 may alsoinclude reports 408 for various authorities (e.g., regulatory,accreditation, certification). For example, a first set of reports 410may be generated for an organic certification authority based oninformation contained in the records. A further set of records 412 maybe generated for a non-profit watchdog organization, and yet another setof reports 414 generated for a regulatory authority (e.g., the EPA).Each of the reports 408 may furthermore have one or more lot codes 404and one or more UPCs 402 associated therewith. The generation of theexemplary reports 408 will be described in further detail below.

Architecture—Agricultural Management Information System 50

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating further architectural details ofthe agricultural management information system 50, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. The agriculturalmanagement information system 50 is shown to receive data records 102,including at least location and product data, from custodians 48,automated data capture mechanisms 450, and other submitters 452. In analternative embodiment, raw data may be received at the agriculturalmanagement information system 50, which then itself composes the record102.

The agricultural management information system 50 is shown to include acertification server 454 that is responsible for generating reportsutilizing records, pertaining to an agricultural product, obtained fromcustodial locations constituting a chain of custody for the relevantagricultural product. To this end, FIG. 13 illustrates a first database103 storing a collection of records 102, each of the multiple records102 being associated with a unique identifier 120, which may comprise aUPC, lot number, or combination of UPC and lot number. Accordingly, aone-to-many mapping between the unique identifier 120 and multiplerecords 102 is maintained.

The certification server 454 also has access to a second database 105,which is shown to include product records 456 that include detailedinformation regarding agricultural products, guideline records 458 (e.g.organic certification guidelines, Marine Stewardship Councilaccreditation guidelines, EPA Clean Water Act standards, etc.),agricultural production system records 460 that include detailsregarding agricultural production systems 15 (e.g., such as thosedescribed with reference to FIG. 1), custodian records 462 that containrecords regarding various custodians in a chain of custody, lot records464 that may contain additional information regarding a lot ofagricultural products, and quality records 466 (e.g., size, color,purity, brix level, harvest date, etc.).

In summary, the certification server 454 receives raw data, orunprocessed records 102, from the various submitters, and outputs aprocessed record 102 that is expanded to include further informationderived from the above mentioned tables 456-468 of the database 105 andinformation that is generated by the certification server 454 itself.

The certification server 454 includes a control module system 470 thatis responsible for coordinating the functioning of the variouscomponents of the certification server 454. These components include acertification tool 472 that is responsible for automatically generatinga compliance result based on the automatic comparison of product data,embodied in a record 102, with compliance requirements as specified in aparticular guideline record 458. In one embodiment, the certificationtool 472 may functionally operate to certify a particular product,identified by a UPC and/or a lot number, as complying with certificationguidelines, as described in a guidelines record 458, for any one ofmultiple certification authorities. Merely for example. The Food.Alliance has issued a set of guidelines entitled “Commodity SpecificGuidelines for Wine Grapes in the Pacific Northwest”, these guidelinesspecify cultural practices (e.g., cover crops, adjacent area management,stock selection, harvest and storage practices), crop nutritionguidelines (e.g., fertilizer applications and soil pH levels)insect/mite management guidelines, disease/nematodes managementguidelines, and weed management guidelines that should be complied within order to receive a wine grape certification from The Food Alliance.Similarly, the Conservation Agriculture Network has issued a bananastandard entitled “Complete Standards for Banana Certification”, whichspecifies ecosystem conservation, wildlife conservation, fair treatmentand good conditions for workers, community relations, agro-chemicalmanagement, waste management, water resource conservation, soilconservation and environmental planning and monitoring requirements thatmust be complied with in order to receive an appropriate certificationfrom the Conservation Agriculture Network. Again, the compliancerequirements for the above standards and guidelines may be embodiedwithin one or more records within the guideline records 458 of thedatabase 105. The certification tool 472 operates automatically tocompare agricultural product data, in the form of the records 102,against the compliance requirements specified within such guidelines orstandards, and to generate a compliance result based on this automaticcomparison. The compliance result typically comprises a report 474,which the certification server 454 may report to a user 451. Forexample, the report 474 may be generated in real-time responsive to aninquiry from the user 451. Alternatively, the report 474 may begenerated once sufficient agricultural product data has been collectedfrom the various submitters, and the report 474 may then be stored aspart of the record 102 and accessed at any time.

The certification server 454 also includes a report tool 475 thatoperates to generate custom reports (e.g., daily, seasonal or yearlypest management reports) based on the agricultural product data,received from various submitters. Further details regarding the reportin process will be provided below.

An identification generator 476 operates to generate the uniqueidentifier 120 which may be associated with multiple records within thedatabase 103 of the system 50. As described above, the unique identifiermay be a UPC, a lot number, or the combination thereof (e.g., anencrypted identifier).

A custody tool 478 operates to include further custodial informationwithin a record 102, as extracted from the custodian records 462.

A regulatory tool 480 operates substantially in the same way discussedabove with respect to the certification tool 472, but instead operatesto generate a regulatory compliance certificate as a compliance resultbased on the comparison of the agricultural product data againstregulatory compliance requirements as specified in one or more guidelinerecords 458. An accreditation tool 473 operates substantially in thesame way discussed above.

An interface 482, that accesses communication parameters 484,facilitates access to the database 105. For example, the interface 482may be implemented by a Database Management System (DBMS) so as toenable the control module system 470 to issue secure queries against thedatabase 103.

Methodology—Creation of Compliance Result

FIG. 14 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, of automaticallygenerating a compliance result based on the automated comparison ofagricultural product data against compliance requirements in the form ofcertification requirements. While the method 500 is described below asgenerating a certification record based on a comparison againstcertification guidelines, it will be appreciated that any complianceresult may be generated using substantially the same methodology. Forexample, a compliance record (e.g., regulatory) or an accreditationrecord may be generated substantially in the same manner.

The method 500 commences with the submission at block 502 from asubmitter (e.g., custodian 48, an automated data capture mechanism 450or other submitter 452) of a record 102, such as for example, the recordillustrated in FIG. 5. In addition to the information specified in FIG.5, the record 102 may also specify a particular product, particularproduction practices/processes 20 applied to that product, inputs usedto produce/process the product 22, biological process 24 that influencedthe production/processing of that product, the duration of time 26 thattook place to produce/process the product, resultant impacts 30, and aguideline specifier that may be utilized to locate a guideline record458 within the database 103. To this end, a custodian, for example, maywhen submitting agricultural product data specify that the record iscontributing towards a determination as to whether a particularagricultural product complies with certain organic standards criteria.In a further embodiment, a witness may authenticate some or all the datasubmitted to add an additional level of credibility.

At block 504, the certification server 454 receives the record 102 fromthe submitter and, at block 506, the identification generator 476 addsan internal identifier 120 (or key) to the record 102. Again, theinternal identifier may comprise a UPC, a lot number, or a code derivedfrom the UPC and/or the lot number.

At block 508, the control module system 470 of the certification server454 stores the original received record 102 in combination with theidentifier 120 within the database 103.

At block 510, the certification tool 472 (or the regulatory tool 480 oraccreditation tool 473) generates a compliance result in the exemplaryform of a certification record (or regulatory compliance record oraccreditation compliance record) by performing a comparison ofcompliance requirements against the captured agricultural product data.As described above, the compliance requirements for a specificcertification record may be specified in a guideline record 458. Thecreation of the certification record 510 may include generating acompliance report that provides metrics, derived from the agriculturaldata, against a number of factors specified by ancertification/accreditation/regulatory authority.

Further, the certification record 510 may indicate an affirmativecompliance result or negative compliance result. The affirmativecompliance result may comprise a standard certification, a governmentregulatory compliance approval, or an accreditation.

At block 514, the created certification record is then stored, either asan integral part of the product data record, or in a relational databaseas a distinct record that is keyed (or linked) to the agricultural,product data record 102.

Methodology—User Product Information Retrieval

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating a method 520, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, of communicatingagricultural product information to a user (e.g., a consumer, farmer orcertification authority).

The method 520 commences at block 522 with the input of a serial number(e.g., a UPC) by an inquiring user 451 to the agricultural managementinformation system 50. In one exemplary embodiment, the input of theserial number to the system 50 may be via a computer system 532 coupledvia a network 180 to the agricultural management information system 50,as is illustrated in FIG. 16A. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG.16A, a product identifier in the form of a UPC embodied in a barcode 536printed on a label 534 is inputted to the computer system 532 via abarcode reader 194 that performs a read operation of the relevantbarcode 536.

FIG. 16A also illustrates that the agricultural management informationsystem 50 may communicate a user interface 538, via the network 180, tothe computer system 532 for display on a display device 540 that formspart of the computer system 532. The user interface 538 may include aserial number input field 542. The serial number may be inputted intothe input field 542 manually, utilizing a keyboard 544, or automaticallyutilizing the barcode reader 194.

The user interface 538 is also shown to present a menu of certificationoptions 546, each option 546 having an associated check box that may beutilized to prompt the user to identify certain certification standards,criteria or guidelines, merely by example. By selecting associated checkboxes, a user is able to identify, for example, certain certificationstandards by which the user is interested.

In one embodiment, the user interface 538 comprises a markup languagedocument (e.g., a hypertext markup language (HTML) document) that isgenerated by a web server that forms part of the agricultural managementinformation system 50. The input by the user to the interface 538 iscommunicated, via the network 180, back to the agricultural managementinformation system 50 as a request for agricultural product information.

FIG. 16B shows example labels 534, each bearing a respective barcode536, as applied to an assortment of agricultural products.

Further, while FIG. 16A illustrates a personal computer system 532 asbeing an input device, it will be appreciated that the request foragricultural product information may be inputted, by user 451, into anyof a number of network-connected devices for communication via thenetwork 180 to the agricultural management information system 50. Forexample, an appropriate interface to harvest information to be includedin such a request may be presented on a PDA, a mobile telephone, ahand-held computer, a pager, or a radio-based communication device.While the UPC is also described in FIG. 16A should be entered via akeyboard 544, or utilizing a barcode reader 194, it will be appreciatedthat multiple other input mechanisms may be utilized to input the UPC.Specifically, an optical, radio, infrared, audio or video inputmechanisms associated with a computing device may be utilized.

Returning to the method 520, illustrated in FIG. 15, at block 524, theuser may optionally input a lot number for a particular agriculturalproduct. The lot number may be entered in any one of the ways describedabove for the input of the serial number.

At block 526, the agricultural management information system 50, havingnow received a serial number and/or a lot number, proceeds to locaterecords associated with the serial and/or lot numbers. To this end,reference is again made to FIG. 12, which illustrates a hierarchy ofrecords 102 and reports 408 associated with a specific UPC 402 and lotcode 404 within the collection 400 being maintained within the database103 of the agricultural management information system 50.

At block 528, having identified the appropriate records 102, theagricultural management information system 50, and more specifically thecertification tool 472 of the certification server 454, proceeds tocompare the identified records with certification criteria specifiedwithin an appropriate guideline record 458. Similarly, in an alternativeembodiment, at block 528, the regulatory tool 480 may compare locatedrecords with regulatory criteria as specified within a guideline record458. In a further embodiment, at block 528, the accreditation tool 473may compare located records with accreditation criteria as specifiedwithin a guideline record 458. Examples of certification criteria areprovided in FIG. 15.

At block 530, the results of the comparison operation performed at block528 are reported to the user. In one exemplary embodiment, thecomparison results may be reported in the form of a markup languagedocument (e.g., a HTML document) that is generated by a web server ofthe agricultural management information system 50, and communicated viaa network 180 to a computer system 532 operated by the user. Thecertification results may, in one embodiment, simply comprise a list ofstandards (e.g., certification, regulatory, accreditation, etc.) withwhich the relevant agricultural product complies. This embodiment may bedirected towards a consumer who is interested in only high-levelinformation. In an alternative embodiment, more detailed information maybe communicated as part of the comparison results. For example, thecertification tool 472 may provide a listing of criteria, with a metricindicated for each of the relevant criteria. The metric may comprise acertification status (e.g., pass, fail) or a relative compliance label(e.g., a grade, percentage value, rating relative to a standard, gradein terms such as poor, fair, good or super, or a statistically derivedconfidence interval). The resolution of information displayed withrespect to a standard, and the criteria that define that standard, arecustomized to accommodate the requirements of a particular user.

While the comparison of the records with the criteria, at block 528, isdescribed above as being performed responsive to the receipt of arequest for agricultural product information, it will be appreciatedthat the comparison operation may be performed off-line, prior to thereceipt of any request, and the results of the comparison stored as areport 408 within the collection 400 for later retrieval responsive to arequest.

The method 520 discussed with reference to FIG. 15 provides an exampleof reporting a level of compliance of an agricultural product, based onagricultural product data collected along the chain of custody, with astandard (e.g., a certification standard). It will nonetheless beappreciated that the information embodied in the records 102, as storedby the database of the agricultural management information system 50, isalso very useful to a farmer (or producer, processor, etc.) for thepurposes of evaluating performance of and reviewing of, an agriculturalproduction system 15 over time (e.g., a season or one or more years asdescribed in FIG. 2). To this end, a user may, in a manner similarlydescribed with reference to FIG. 15, input information pertaining to anagricultural production system (e.g., a unit of production identifier),responsive to which the report tool 474 of the certification server 454locates records associated with the relevant agricultural productionsystem 15 (e.g., a field of land). In addition to an identifier for anagricultural product system 15, the request from the farmer may includea specific characteristic in which the user is interested. For example,the user may be interested in the number of pests (e.g., leafhoppers)observed at a particular trap within a particular season, or over anumber of years. In this case, the report tool 475 is able to extractthe appropriate data from the located records, and generate textual orgraphic reports. To this end, FIG. 17A shows exemplary seasonal reports600 and historic reports 602 of the number of leafhoppers identifiedwithin a particular trap both seasonally and over a number of years.Additionally, the report tool 475 generates graphs to provide a visualrepresentation of observed or measured values for a particularcharacteristic.

FIG. 17B provides a further example of a weekly pest managementmonitoring report 620 that may be generated by the report tool 474responsive to a request from a user 451. Once again, the informationdisplayed in the report 620 is extracted from the connection 400 ofrecords 102, responsive to a user inquiry.

Individual reports may also rank, rate, and/or provide descriptive andinferential statistics so as to provide a meaningful comparative view ofthe captured agricultural product data. Such reports go beyond a mere“yes/no” compliance, and enable a user to differentiate betweencustodians of an agricultural product based on a selected one, ormultiple, metrics (e.g., environmental conditions, quality, time tomarket, etc.). A user 451 (e.g., a consumer) is then able to perform acomparative selection based on one or more metrics. For example, aconsumer may request information regarding “good”, “better” or “best”based on one or more metrics, or may elect to receive informationregarding the top ten-percent of environmentally sound products, merelyfor example.

Similarly, at the end of a production cycle (e.g., a season) or apredefined time period (e.g., every six months, every twelve months,etc.), a user 451 (e.g., a farmer or other producer) may be presentedwith a summary report (or aggregation) of all compliance reports for thepredetermined time period. Such a summary report may be utilized by theproducer as a benchmark for future production cycles, to calculateend-of-cycle balances or for multiple other purposes.

To this end, FIG. 17C provides an example of an aggregate report 622that graphically illustrates water use efficiency per year measured inacre/feet for a group of winegrape growers. In this example, a ratingsystem is based on the most efficient growers determined by the top tenpercent of growers along a water use efficiency scale. In oneembodiment, the report 622 may be hyperlinked so as, to allow a userconveniently to “click through” the illustrated graph to identify thenames of the growers in, for example, the top ten-percent for water useefficiency.

FIG. 17D illustrates a further exemplary report in the form of apesticide use report 624 that provides a graphic depiction of pesticideuse per year measured by pounds applied per acre. In this example, arating system is based on a five-category scale that ranges from “best”626 to “poor” 628, with equal intervals defined at 20 lbs. per year.Accordingly, in contrast with the report 622 discussed with reference toFIG. 17 which provides a percentage-based rating, the report 624illustrated in FIG. 17D provides discrete, descriptive classificationsor ratings of growers. Again, the report 624 may provide a “clickthrough” functionality so as to enable a user 451 conveniently toidentify growers falling within each of the respective categories.

Further, a request to user 451 may require that a sample population belimited according to specified criteria. For example, the user 451 mayspecify that only a specific type of custodian (e.g., a grower,processor, transporter) be considered within a specific biologicallymeaningful unit (e.g., ecosystem, watershed, biological community,habitat, species population range, etc.), politically meaningful unit(e.g. country, state, region, county, city, town, village, etc.), and/orgeographic region (e.g., section, town, range, etc.). Furthermore, theuser 451 may request that the report only consider growers involved inone or more certification programs (e.g., organic, sustainable,integrated pest management, genetically-modified organism free, etc.).While irrigation water and pesticide use have been provided as examplesof metrics of interest above, it will be appreciated that any one of apredetermined set of metrics may be selected. For example, user 451 maywish to view a comparative rating of a custodian based on energy use,impacts on water quality, impacts on air quality, level of biodiversityfound in and around the production unit, time to market, ripeness, etc.

The reports discussed above may, in one embodiment, be generated asmarkup language documents that are communicated from the agriculturalmanagement information system 50, via the network 180, to a computersystem 532.

Thus, a method and system to automatically certify an agriculturalproduct, have been described. Although the present invention has beendescribed with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it will beevident that various modifications and changes may be made to theseembodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to beregarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a hand-held deviceincluding: a display; and one or more input devices to sense productidentification indicia associated with or affixed to a food product thatis grown or raised in an agricultural operation the agriculturaloperation being one in a series of agricultural operations in a chain ofcustody of the food product; the hand-held device including at least oneprocessor to: determine a machine-readable identification code from theproduct identification indicia; send the identification code to at leastone remote server; receive, from the at least one remote server,information that is associated with the product, the informationincluding comparative agricultural product information that isassociated with the production of the food product at one or more of theseries of agricultural operations in the series of agriculturaloperations in the chain of custody of the food product, the at least oneremote server including one or more modules implemented by one or moreprocessors, the one or more modules configured to, at least: receivefirst data associated with an impact on surface or ground waterpollution, the impact on the surface or ground water pollution resultingfrom the production of the agricultural product, the first data beingreceived from a single sampling location in the series of agriculturaloperations, the first received data including a first data record from afirst custodian device located at a first location in the series ofagricultural operations at which the first custodian device read a firstcode that pairs a data type with the first location, the first datarecord pairing a first value that quantifies the data type with thefirst code that pairs the data type with the first location; receivesecond data associated with the impact on the surface or ground waterpollution, the second data being received from a plurality of samplinglocations in the series of agricultural operations, the second receiveddata including a second data record from a second custodian devicelocated at a second location in the plurality of locations in the seriesof agricultural operations at which the second custodian device read asecond code that pairs the data type with the second location, thesecond data record pairing a second value that quantifies the data typewith the second code that pairs the data type with the second location;generate an aggregate result for the data type based on the first orsecond data and a determination or condition that an aggregated set ofdata records that includes the first and second data records is basisfor automatic generation of a report about the data type; and generateand include in the report the comparative agricultural productinformation using the aggregate result and at least some of the first orsecond data and indicate in the report whether the data type that ispaired with the first and second locations by the first and second codesmeets or does not meet the aggregate result for the data type; and causea user device to receive and display the generated report about the datatype, the user device being distinct from the first and second custodiandevices from which the first and second data records are collectivelyreceived.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more inputdevices includes one or more of the following: a keyboard; bar codereader; an audio device; an imaging camera; and, a radio frequencyidentification means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thecomparative agricultural product information includes location datarelating to a location at which the food product was grown or raised, ora location as the food product passes along a chain of custody of theproduct.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the location data includesa location code.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the location codecomprises, or is included in, a bar code.
 6. The apparatus of claim 3,wherein at least some of the location data is included in a tag affixedon or adjacent the food product as it is grown or raised, or as itpasses along a chain of custody of the product.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the comparative agricultural product informationincludes information relating to an entity or condition of the foodproduct in a chain of custody of the food product.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 7, wherein the comparative agricultural product informationincludes information relating to a location of the entity or foodproduct in the chain of custody.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7, whereinthe comparative agricultural product information includes informationrelating to an observed condition of the entity or food product in thechain of custody.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the comparativeagricultural product information is captured by a data capture device.11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the data capture device includesone or more data capture applications.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein at least some of the comparative agricultural productinformation is included in or captured by a code chart.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the comparative agricultural productinformation includes information relating to one or more of thefollowing: a bug count; a mildew level; a command code; a water useefficiency; and, a product identification code.
 14. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the comparative agricultural product informationincludes a Universal Product Code or a lot code of the food product. 15.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the comparative agricultural productinformation includes data relating to the compliance, or relativecompliance, of the food product in relation to one or morecertification, regulatory, or accreditation standards, guidelines orcriteria.
 16. A system comprising one or more processors to: receive anidentification code from one or more input devices, the identificationcode corresponding to a food product that is grown or raised in anagricultural operation, the agricultural operation being one in a seriesof agricultural operations in a chain of custody of the food product;receive or store information that is associated with the product, theinformation including comparative agricultural product information thatis associated with the production of the food product at at least one ofthe series of agricultural operations in the chain of custody of thefood product, and wherein receiving or storing information that isassociated with the product includes: receiving first data associatedwith an impact on surface or ground water pollution, the impact on thesurface or ground water pollution resulting from the production of theagricultural product, the first data being received from a singlesampling location in the series of agricultural operations, the firstreceived data including a first data record from a first custodiandevice located at a first location in the series of agriculturaloperations at which the first custodian device read a first code thatpairs a data type with the first location, the first data record pairinga first value that quantifies the data type with the first code thatpairs the data type with the first location; receiving second dataassociated with the impact on the surface or ground water pollution, thesecond data being received from a plurality of sampling locations in theseries of agricultural operations, the second received data including asecond data record from a second custodian device located at a secondlocation in the plurality of locations in the series of agriculturaloperations at which the second custodian device read a second code thatpairs the data type with the second location, the second data recordpairing a second value that quantifies the data type with the secondcode that pairs the data type with the second location; generating anaggregate result for the data type based on the first or second data anda determination or condition that an aggregated set of data records thatincludes the first and second data records is basis for automaticgeneration of a report about the data type; and generating and includingin the report the comparative agricultural product information using theaggregate result and at least some of the first or second data andindicate in the report whether the data type that is paired with thefirst and second locations by the first and second codes meets or doesnot meet the aggregate result for the data type; and causing a userdevice to receive and display the generated report about the data type,the user device being distinct from the first and second custodiandevices from which the first and second data records are collectivelyreceived.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein at least one of theprocessors is further to receive or store at least some of theinformation that is associated with the product at one or more remoteservers.
 18. The system of claim 17, wherein the system further includesa computer or hand-held device comprising at least one of theprocessors, and wherein the at least one processor is further toreceive, from the one or more remote servers, at least some of theinformation that is associated with the product.
 19. The system of claim16, wherein the computer or hand-held device includes the display towhich at least some of the product information is sent.
 20. The systemof claim 16, wherein the one or more input devices includes one or moreof the following: a keyboard; a bar code reader; an audio device; animaging camera; and, a radio frequency identification means.
 21. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the comparative agricultural productinformation includes location data relating to a location at which thefood product was grown or raised, or a location as the food productpasses along a chain of custody of the product.
 22. The system of claim21, wherein the location data includes a location code.
 23. The systemof claim 22, wherein the location code comprises, or is included in, abar code.
 24. The system of claim 21, wherein at least some of thelocation data is included in a tag affixed on or adjacent the foodproduct as it is grown or raised, or as it passes along a chain ofcustody of the product.
 25. The system of claim 16, wherein thecomparative agricultural product information includes informationrelating to an entity or condition of the food product in a chain ofcustody of the food product.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein thecomparative agricultural product information includes informationrelating to a location of the entity or food product in the chain ofcustody.
 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the comparativeagricultural product information includes information relating to anobserved condition of the entity or food product in the chain ofcustody.
 28. The system of claim 16, wherein the comparativeagricultural product information is captured by a data capture device.29. The system of claim 28, wherein the data capture device includes oneor more data capture applications.
 30. The system of claim 16, whereinat least some of the comparative agricultural product information isincluded in or captured by a code chart.
 31. The system of claim 16,wherein the comparative agricultural product information includesinformation relating to one or more of the following: a bug count; amildew level; a command code; a water use efficiency; and, a productidentification code.
 32. The system of claim 16, wherein the comparativeagricultural product information includes a Universal Product Code or alot code of the food product.
 33. The system of claim 16, wherein thecomparative agricultural product information includes data relating tothe compliance, or relative compliance, of the food product in relationto one or more certification, regulatory, or accreditation standards,guidelines or criteria.
 34. A system comprising: one or more modulesincorporated into an agricultural management information system toconfigure a capability of the agricultural management information systemto generate environmental impact information, the environmental impactinformation including an aggregate result and comparative data, the oneor more modules implemented by one or more processors, the one or moremodules configured to, at least: receive first data associated with animpact on an environmental aspect resulting from a production of anagricultural product, the first data being received from a singlesampling location, the first received data including a first data recordfrom a first custodian device located at a first location in the seriesof agricultural operations at which the first custodian device read afirst code that pairs a data type with the first location, the firstdata record pairing a first value that quantifies the data type with thefirst code that pairs the data type with the first location; receivesecond data associated with the impact on the environmental aspect, thesecond data being received from a plurality of sampling locations, thesecond received data including a second data record from a secondcustodian device located at a second location in the plurality oflocations in the series of agricultural operations at which the secondcustodian device read a second code that pairs the data type with thesecond location, the second data record pairing a second value thatquantifies the data type with the second code that pairs the data typewith the second location; generate the aggregate result for the datatype based on the first or second data and a determination or conditionthat an aggregated set of data records that includes the first andsecond data records is basis for automatic generation of a report aboutthe data type; generate and include in the report the comparative datausing the aggregate result and at least some of the first or second dataand indicate in the report whether the data type that is paired with thefirst and second locations by the first and second codes meets or doesnot meet the aggregate result for the data type; and cause a user deviceto receive and display the generated report about the data type, theuser device being distinct from the first and second custodian devicesfrom which the first and second data records are collectively received.35. A system comprising: one or more modules incorporated into anagricultural management information system to configure a capability ofthe agricultural management information system to generate environmentalimpact information, the environmental impact information including anaggregate result and comparative data, the one or more modulesimplemented by one or more processors, the one or more modulesconfigured to, at least: receive first data associated with an impact onwater quantity, the impact on the water quantity resulting from aproduction of an agricultural product, the first data being receivedfrom a single sampling location, the first received data including afirst data record from a first custodian device located at a firstlocation in the series of agricultural operations at which the firstcustodian device read a first code that pairs a data type with the firstlocation, the first data record pairing a first value that quantifiesthe data type with the first code that pairs the data type with thefirst location; receive second data associated with the impact on thewater quantity, the second data being received from a plurality ofsampling locations, the second received data including a second datarecord from a second custodian device located at a second location inthe plurality of locations in the series of agricultural operations atwhich the second custodian device read a second code that pairs the datatype with the second location, the second data record pairing a secondvalue that quantifies the data type with the second code that pairs thedata type with the second location; generate the aggregate result forthe data type based on the first or second data and a determination orcondition that an aggregated set of data records that includes the firstand second data records is basis for automatic generation of a reportabout the data type; generate and include in the report the comparativedata using the aggregate result and at least some of the first or seconddata and indicate in the report whether the data type that is pairedwith the first and second locations by the first and second codes meetsor does not meet the aggregate result for the data type; and cause auser device to receive and display the generated report about the datatype, the user device being distinct from the first and second custodiandevices from which the first and second data records are collectivelyreceived.